Brian D. Stephens
Muruganar was a prolific poet and writer who attained liberation through the grace of Ramana Maharshi. Muruganar spent years in Sri Ramana Ashram listening to Ramana answer questions from devotees. He summarized many of the answers into four line verses which were then edited by Ramana Maharshi. Read some of Muruganar’s profound spiritual insights… Read more
Ramana Maharshi is one of the most well-known spiritual teachers of the twentieth century. He lived as a renunciant at the base of Arunachala mountain. His Advaita Vedanta teachings emphasize the spiritual practices of surrender and self-enquiry. Many of his devotees attained liberation. Learn what he had to say about the nature of reality… Read more
There are many translations of the Upanishads. Many people who read the Upanishads recommend the translation by Swami Prabhavananda. I found it on Internet Archive and began reading the first Upanishad in the book—the Isha Upanishad. After a few moments my mind stilled, and I was deeply immersed in the formless… Read more
Read quotes from Eckhart Tolle, one of the few modern spiritual teachers who is elightened. He teaches the Zen practice of focusing on the present moment. Learn how to align with the present moment in order to still the mind and touch the deeper reality… Read more
Spiritual development is the weakening of the ego. It is formed by past conditioning (or karma) and sustained by thoughts. A spiritual practice enables you to still the mind so you can perceive and connect with the deeper reality. While connected your karma dissolves, weakening the ego. When all of your karma is gone the ego is destroyed and you attain liberation… Read more
I’m reading Ramana Maharshi’s teachings and a biography about Papaji. Being exposed to their grace has affected my system. Both men taught the spiritual practice of self-enquiry. You focus on the source of the “I” (or ego) in order to draw your attention inward and still the mind. When the “I” recedes into the Self permanently you attain liberation. After an encounter with a dove tonight my mind stilled… Read more
It is of upmost importance that you chose the right spiritual teacher. A spiritually advanced teacher can teach you how to align with the deeper reality. A teacher who is not advanced can delay your progress. Unfortunately, may people choose poorly and fail to reach their spiritual potential… Read more
My favorite spiritual practices are to focus on the Paramatman light or an enlightened teacher. Of late, another spiritual practice has arisen spontaneously. I step back and observe myself interacting with the world. The way I perceive the world changes. I am freed from the ego’s influence and the mind stills. The external world loses its sense of reality. It is more like a play… Read more
I have spent far too much of my life immersed in the illusion of maya. The ego loves to keep the mind active and focused on anything other than the divine. In our modern society another level of maya has been created in which we lose ourselves in an artificial electronic world. We are constantly staring at our smart phones or immersed in some form of entertainment on the television or computer. The ego-controlled mind enjoys the stimulation and soon becomes addicted to it… Read more
It has become clear that most of my thoughts put some sort of limitation on what I am capable of doing. And they are lies. Any thought which appears in the mind should be viewed skeptically. They either arise from the ego, which is a part of maya. It is a foreign life form that has taken control of your awareness. It causes suffering by keeping you focused on external objects and trapped in the illusion of separateness. It uses fear to keep you from realizing your potential in life and from connecting with your deeper nature… Read more
Life tries to impose limitations upon us. Having the courage and the willpower to make a better life for ourselves is essential. If you don’t try, you feel powerless and become a passive victim of fate. Yet even if everything in your life were to work out just right—with your job, finances, relationships, and health—you would still not be free. True freedom is not something you find in your external circumstances. Instead, it is found within… Read more
I use the Paramatman light to help other life forms. I probably learned the skill unconsciously during my darshans with Mother Meera. Each life form has a physical body on the physical plane of reality and an energy body on the energetic plane. And it is the energetic body that I access. At first the light was projected into trees. Then the process expanded to birds, then insects, and now people… Read more